Last One Standing There, First One Up's Not Down
by sarah1711uu
Summary: A new girl stumbles into Camp Half-Blood. No one seems to know her, and she doesn't know anyone. Can this heroine find her way out of a sticky situation and a new romance? PJXAC and OCX? Hiatus (left alone) for a while... Sorry
1. New Meetings, New Connections

**A/N: 3-4 yrs after last olympian (the last book I cared to read)**

* * *

I stumbled up a hill as a blonde girl in an orange tee shouted at me to hurry up. I pushed off the ground when I fell. I saw her pull out a knife. _Wait, why does she have a knife? Is she gonna kill the guy? He's creepy as frick, but you can't kill someone for that_, I thought as I made it to the cease of the hill. I turned around to see the girl stab him. He didn't fall over; he turned to dust. I blinked a few times before she made it to me and dragged me down the other side. I saw a blue house come into view along with a hill, which had a pavilion on it, and a bunch of huge cabins. She dragged me to the house and I got plenty of awed and angry looks.

"Chiron, I need you to find her a home," she said as she stopped me. I stared up at the half horse man. I must have looked like an idiot because she turned the attention to her again. "I don't know anything about her, expect that she's a demigod." I giggled at the false comment. "What's so funny?"

I waved my hand, dismissing the question, as Chiron, the half horse man, said "So, what's your name?"

I cleared my throat as someone approached. "Chiron, can I get your help?" He seemed very similar to my dad with his sandy blonde hair and brown eyes.

"Just a minute, Austin," Chiron motioned with his hands for a bit. I cringed at the thought of thinking "Austin" was cute in any way. It would be like hitting on my dad. I shook my head, getting the thought out of my head. "Are you okay?" he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"Oh, yeah. It's just... hitting on your dad," I shook my head some more. "Stop that," I muttered as I slid to my knees.

"This might be a good time for you to get more of your siblings, Austin."

* * *

I woke up with the same girl feeding me a yellowish paste. It oddly tasted like my favorite food, this "skinny Cajun chicken penne"**(A/N: recipe link at the end)**. I took another spoonful before I sat up, pushing the spoon aside. I swallowed as I addressed her, "So, what's your name?"

"I could ask you the same thing," she laughed. "But you asked first, so... I'm Annabeth." I nodded, think that my name was less self-respecting.

"I'm Juli." I looked out the window to my right. The sun hurt my eyes, but I didn't mind. "It's nice out."

"It sure is. When you're okay, you can go outside, too," she said as I fell out of the bed. "Oh, gods. Are you alright?" I nodded, standing up. I walked out the door before she caught me, which wasn't long after. "You can't just leave."

"Watch me," I said as I ran to the cabins. Once I lost her, I sat behind one of the cabins. The soft moss was a nice seat under a pine. I leaned my head against the cabin as I caught me breath. _Why couldn't my parents have been different? Why did both of them have to be..._ I stopped thinking to hear footsteps. They sounded close, so I got up and took off again. I ran until I ran into a guy. He had jet black hair and sea green eyes. He seemed as shocked and sorry as I felt.

"Oh, sorry," he said as he climbed to his feet to help me up. "I'm Percy and you must be new here." I blushed at the true statement. "And you're..."

"I'm Juli. I'm sorry. I bumped into you. You see I was running away from this guys," I said as I pointed behind me.

"Who?" I glanced back to see no one running.

"A girl named Annabeth," I said, turning back to Percy.

"My fiancée is chasing you?" Percy raised an eyebrow.

"And Chiron."

"You got off on the wrong foot then. They're great people," Percy wanted to reason. "Mostly."

"Well, they want my head," I glanced back over my shoulder.

"I'll just tell them it's a misunderstanding," he said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me back to the horrid blue house. I twisted and pulled, but that did nothing. I stopped struggling and walked next to Percy, when he let go of my wrist. I blinked a couple of times before I turned to see what was up. A kid about my age, fourteen, smiled at everyone who rubbed his head. We connected eyes before I turned away.

"Who's that?" I said, covering my feelings.

"That's my friend I haven't seen in years. His name is Nico de Angelo," he said, grabbing my wrist and dragging me once more.

First thing I noticed was his love for the color black and his black hair and his dark skin. I felt like a Titan was dragging me to my death; that's how much I didn't want to get near this kid. My body was sending up red flags and flares. I twisted and stopped walking as much as I could before I stood next to him.

"Who this?" Nico said, hiding the same feelings. I smiled, thinking, _I might have a chance_. "Percy, she's kinda freaking me out, which is hard to do."

"Oh, sorry, Nico. This is Juli. She's new here," Percy introduced me. Annabeth pushed to the front, causing me to be pushed against Percy. I quickly pushed away.

"Juli, I found you. Thank the gods. Now, come back," she said, grabbing my wrist. _What is with these people and wrist grabbing?_ I thought as I pulled out of her grasp.

"I'm not going with anyone. At least not yet," I said as Chiron stood next to Percy.

"Do you know what your parent's cabin is?" Chiron asked as he turned to me.

"Of course, but it might be tricky," I said, looking to someone for support. No one came.

"How so?"

"My parents were the demigods."

* * *

**A/N: Recipe: (couldn't get a website so google skinny cajun chicken penne)**


	2. Last One Picked, First One Cherished

...

"My parents were the demigods." I kicked the ground a bit as their faces went from awe-struck to down right confused. Annabeth looked the least confused, then Percy, then Chiron and lastly Nico, who looked at me like I was character from one of the books I read. "Uhh..." I said as I tried to back up. Apparently, I drew a crowd. I turned to see who I bumped into. It was the Austin kid from earlier. "Sorry," I muttered as I felt bodies being pressed against my own. I moved to the circle, or square, of Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Chiron. They looked down at me, which made me realize I was on the ground. "Can you help a girl out?" I smiled weakly. A horn blew and the crowd ran towards the hill with the pavilion. Once the majority left, Nico helped me to me feet.

"We can't be late for lunch," Chiron said as he started to trot towards the hill.

"Come on. Let's go," Percy said as he grabbed Annabeth's hand. I followed with Nico walking besides me.

"Who are your parents then?" Nico whispered.

I gave him a sideways glance before answering in a whisper as well, "Kevin and Sarah Wilson."

"Never heard of them," he said.

"Most people haven't. My dad works as a doctor in Germany and my mom works for a newspaper as an advice columnist," I said, turning my face down a little.

"It sucks to not be able to see family. Even worse if they're dead," Nico said flatly. I felt a sting of guilty of bring it up. As if on cue, Nico added, "You don't need to feel sorry. I have a great family with these guys."

I smiled as we came to the pavilion. My smile was washed away by everyone staring at us. I felt my face get hot as Nico and I stood there for a moment. He grabbed my hand, not my wrist, and pulled me to a lonely table. We sat down as food appeared. "I can't sit here," I said, standing up. "I don't belong anywhere."

"You do belong. You just need to find where, but until then, sit here. I'm sure my dad won't mind," Nico said as he pulled me back down to sitting. "And if he did, I don't care." Feeling comforted a bit, I grabbed something and threw it into a fire. The fire turned a green and blue color. I guessed it wasn't the normal color because people started whispering.

"I told you!" I shouted at Nico as I got up and ran away from the pavilion to the blue house, that oddly represented a safe haven now. I stumbled a few times, running down the hill at full speed. I slipped on some mud outside the house and fell on my butt. I got up and ran into the house and sat down in a wash or mud room. I pulled my muddy legs to my chest and hugged my legs. I let the tears fall, thinking I was the abomination everyone thought I was. I heard a soft knock. I didn't respond.

The person knocked again, saying, "Juli, it's me, Nico. Can you open up?" _How did he find me? It doesn't matter. I'm still an abomination_, I thought. "I'm coming in," he opened the door, barely missing me. "Juli, come back to the pavilion. Everyone is worrying."

"Really? That's a first," I muttered. "They don't care until it's appropriate." He squatted in front of me.

"I'm not talking about everyone else. I'm talking about Chiron, Percy and Annabeth," he managed a smile. "They care about you, even if you just met them. They are my family and they care about me and what I care about." I blinked a few times before sighing.

"I'll go, if you can tell me something," I smiled a bit, too. I heard footsteps outside the doorway.

"Nico, Juli. I found you," Percy smiled as he poked his head in. "Come on back to lunch. Chiron is getting worried."

Nico got up, then helped me up, "I think she needs to get changed first." Percy and Nico managed to get me clothes that fit and I changed into them, leaving my muddy clothes with Percy. We trudged back up the hill. Percy went to his respective table and Nico brought me to his.

Everyone still eyed us, but I turned a cold shoulder to them. We ate and talked about random, non-Greek or Roman related things. It turns out Nico has a soft spot for my favorite book series, _Gone_. We quoted our favorite lines and laughed about the similarities between us. We both liked a love song called _Overwhelmed_ by Tim McMorris. We both enjoyed random songs that reminded us of stuff from our childhoods. When lunch was over, we walked around camp. Nico told me of his sister and mother. I told him about my cousins. Towards the time of dinner, we turned to the subject of celebrity crushes.

"I would say mine is David Tennant, or maybe Matt Smith," I said, leaning on my elbows and sitting in the sand. "Who's yours?"

"Who in the gods' names are that?" Nico smiled.

I shook my head, "They're British actors, who kinda look like an older version of you, but with paler skin." I asked as I sat up, brushing off the sand, "So, who do you like?"

"I don't know," Nico shrugged. "I'm not into tv or movies, really."

"If you had to pick, no buts, who would you say?" I turned to face Nico, instead of the setting sun. He thought for a moment before opening his mouth.

He closed it, then opened it to speak, "If I had to choose one person that I had a crush on..." he trailed off.

"Yeah. Pick anyone you want," I smiled as he smiled.

"If I had to pick one, I'd pick you."


	3. Mutual Feelings, Mutual Haterad

...

"If I had to pick one, I'd pick you." I opened my mouth as the horn blew. "What?" He smiled, "you said I could pick anyone." I closed my mouth as Nico pulled me out of the sand. I brushed myself off as did Nico. "I guess you don't feel the same way, huh?" His face showed disappointment.

"No, no. I do, but I thought it was a one-way thing," I smiled as I grabbed his hand, not to drag him, but to hold it.

"What is a 'one-way thing' anyhow?" Nico did nothing to pull his hand away.

"It's when a girl, or boy, likes someone else, but that someone else doesn't like the person back," I explained. "I know what it is all too well," I frown a little.

"Oh. Well, let's get to dinner already," Nico said as he tugged on my arm a little. We walked up together, holding hands the entire way. I heard people whisper a bit, but I tried to ignore them. I did a pretty good job, only shouting a girl once and two boys separately. Once we made it to the top, a girl out of nowhere tackled me to the ground. "What the underworld, Thalia?"

The girl still held me down when she answered, "I'm keeping Camp Half-Blood safe from monsters." She pulled out a spear. _Wait. Where did she get the spear from?_ I thought as she aimed it at my head. "And she smells like one."

"Hey," I said as I got away from her. I got into a fighting stance. I pulled out my collapsible bow and arrows from the backpack I never let go of. "If you want to fight, come at me, bro," I said, aiming at her. Everything stopped. I paused a moment before bowing to her and taking off again. This time into the woods. I sat down on a dry patch of grass with wind blowing against my back. I heard whispering, but thought it was the wind.

"I said, why are you here?" asked a wood nymph.

She looked friendly enough, so I answered, "Hiding."

"From?"

"Some crazy chick," I said , relaxing.

"Oh. Well, I'm Juniper. What's your name?"

"I'm Juli. I'm new here," I said as she sat besides me.

"I can tell," she smiled.

"How?" I raised an eyebrow.

"No one comes here alone, or unarmed."

"Fine. I'll leave." With that, I traced my footsteps to outside of the woods. Nico stood there. He turned to see me stumble out of the bushes that caught my foot. I rolled over, head first. Nico giggled as he helped me back up. "Thanks, Nico," I smiled. "Is psycho chick still here?"

"I have a name, you know." I turned to see the girl again.

"You do now? Can I ask what it is or will you stab me?" I crossed my arms.

"Why you little..." she stopped. "My name is Thalia," she stuck out her hand. I shook it. "Hey, you're civilized."

"You know I don't have to deal with your sass! I can leave. How about that? I'll just leave!" Percy appeared towards the end of my rant.

"Juli, you just got here. You can't leave just yet," Percy reasoned.

"I've left before," I said. I caught a glimpse of Nico leaving. I turned, "Nico!" I ran to catch up with him. "What the underworld?"

"Hey, don't steal my line," Nico joked. I smiled as he said, "I'm just tired."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I'm tired of all the yelling, all the running and all the hate." Nico stopped and I turned around. "You have been caught in three different fight or arguments in one day. And you know what? It's because you can't just suck it up and deal with being different. How do you think I feel?" He paused as he wiped away tears. "I found out I was a demigod and so was my sister. But we were too different to even be recognized demigods. We were shunned, but we had each other. Now it's just me. I'm alone in a world that fails to recognize me as a person with thoughts and feelings." He sniffled and wiped away the more tears, "But I grew up and I dealt with it. You can't even appreciate the fact you have a family that cares."

I stood there for a moment as he wiped the rest of the tears. He breathed heavily and he shook with each breath. I walked over and gave him a hug. He cried harder, but I grabbed tighter. We stood in that position for about two minutes before I pulled away and asked, "Are you okay?" He nodded, so I walked him to his cabin. We sat on the front steps for a while as Nico's breathing became regular. I leaned his head against mine and we watched the night get darker. I hummed a song that was stuck in my head at that point. I hummed louder and soon Nico started humming. After a while, he moved his head to sing.

Nico sang along softly,  
"_The little things they always hang around_  
_ The little things they try to break me down_  
_ The little things they just won't go away_  
_ The little things made me who I am today_  
_ You want to hate me know_  
_ But I won't stop know, cause I can't stop now_." He paused, satisfied. "I need that," he smiled. "I'm sorry about yelling at you, but you don't know how lucky you are to have parents who care. I know my mom cared, but she's dead. At least your parents can still say 'I love you' ."

I knew what I was going to say would come back to bite me in the butt, but I said it anyways, "They can't. My parents are dead."

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN. How will Nico react? Questions? Comments? Guesses? Into the review box, please.**

**And the song is _Little Things_ by Good Charlotte. (I was listening to it, so I decided it would be appropriate.)**


	4. Jealousy Eats Eveyone

**A/N: HEY GUYS! Sorry for not updating in like a week... I was banned from the computer. Well, here's the new chapter for LAST ONE STANDING THERE, FIRST ONE UP'S NOT DOWN (or LOST,FOUND)! R&R!  
**

* * *

...

"They can't. My parents are dead." I felt Nico stiffen a bit. "At least that's what my _adoptive_ parents say."

"Kevin and Sarah Wilson?" he asked. I nodded after a moment. "Can I ask who your birth parents?"

I shrugged, "I never knew them." I paused before I continued. "But Sarah said that my birth mom was demigod." I pulled my legs up to my chest as a breeze went by.

"Yeah? Who was your mom a daughter of?" Nico asked as he pulled me closer to him and wrapped his arm around my waist.

I answered, a cold tear falling, "Her mom was Aphrodite." I felt him nod; his cheek brushing mine. I looked up into the sky, at the clouds drift overhead. I frowned, causing Nico to move away a little. "I thought clouds couldn't fly overhead."

I looked to Nico, who was staring into the darkening sky. He seemed concerned, but focused. He waited a moment before frowning and addressing me, "They don't."

"Then why are they?" The clouds blocked out the last of the moonlight, making it harder to see.

"Now would be a good time to find Thalia."

"The psycho chick that tried to kill me?!"

"Well, I can think of one other person that could cause this, and you won't want to upset him."

I felt like I knew, but I asked anyway, "Who?"

"Zeus. Now, would you rather face Thalia or Zeus?" Nico went on, staring at the sky, "If it's Zeus... well, let's pray to the gods it's not." Nico glanced away from the sky to pull himself and me up. After he had, he looked back to the clouds that seemed to cover only the camp. "I'm really hoping it's just an emotional girl."

"If it is Thalia, hypothetically, why would she be pissed?" I asked as Nico half dragged me to the blue house, which was the center of the gathering clouds. "I mean, like who is she pissed at? Is she jealous of someone?"

"Of course she's jealous," Nico slowed down when Thalia was visible. "Of you," Nico said as Thalia turned to me and him. It looked like her hair would catch on fire from her anger.

"Wait. Of me?!" I asked as Nico let go of me and moved towards Thalia. He stopped when he was twenty yards away.

"... you're jealous, Thalia," Nico said, but I missed the first part due to random thoughts. "I know you are."

"Am not!" She shouted, causing lighting to strike between them.

"Well, you are, but you can't."

"And why not?" She crossed her arms.

"Uh, you're one of Artemis' Huntresses. You can't fall in love," Nico countered, while a crowd was drawing. Someone brushed me. I turned to see a man with a Diet Coke can in his hand. He looked like a tourist with the Hawaiian shirt, beige shorts and sandals.

He sipped it before he spoke, "Why am I not surprised?" I turned back.

Thalia at the same time said, "Who ever said I was in love?" Thalia smirked before she spoke again, "And I never really liked you, Nico." From his body langauge, I knew Nico was upset, then he turned pissed. He raised his hand a bit and skeletons climbed out of the earth. I jumped a bit, hitting the mystery man.

"Hey!" He said as Nico dropped his hand. The only thing running through my mind was, _Now we need Poseidon_. I and anyone else watched the starring contest. I tried to circle to Thalia, but the man grabbed my sleeve. "I wouldn't do that, if I were you," he said, then sipped more of his soda. Lighting struck a skeleton. The skeleton staggered a bit before standing up right, bones cracking.

I noticed the whispers of the crowd, other than the mystery guy. Some said, "Two of the Big Three? That can't end well" and "Who in the gods' names started this? I want to sleep". I felt the guilt pile up. I knew in my heart that I caused Thalia's jealousy. Nico heard the whispers, saw me in a sideways glance or felt my emotions, but he relaxed and the skeletons retreated back to the ground.

Nico said, just loud enough for Thalia to hear, "Thalia, just calm down." She seemed to relax and released her stance to a more casual position, uncrossing her arms. Chiron, the mystery man, Percy and Annabeth went to the center of the circle of kids. Chiron waved Nico and Thalia to the center. Nico came up to me and told me to come with him. I did as told and followed. We formed a small circle.

We stared at each other until Chiron spoke, "Nico, Thalia, what is the meaning of this fighting?" I noticed kids either drift away or edge closer, but most left.

Nico was quicker, "She's totally jealous."

"Am not!" She crossed her arms again as, I swear, lighting flashed across her eyes. Everyone seemed slightly scared, even Chiron. I tried to back up, but Nico and the mystery man each held a sleeve.

"Thalia?" the half-horse man asked, looking at the pouting girl. She turned away a little. "Thalia?"

She gave in and answered, "Fine. I am jealous. Happy?"

Percy seemed a little shocked, "Of who?"

She seemed to clench her jaw. Thalia took a deep breath before she answered, "Of little Miss Perfect."

Percy and Annabeth said together, "Hey!" I smiled, approving of Percy's defensiveness towards Annabeth. _Is Nico like that? Could he be like that?_ I thought.

The mystery man sipped his Diet Coke before asking, "Chiron, I'm leaving." But the half-horse man stopped him.

Meanwhile, Thalia face-palmed and dragged her hand down her face. She shook her head a bit, giggling to herself. "Idiots. Not Annabeth. She's Mrs. Perfect."

"Hey!" Annabeth yelled.

Thalia went on, "I mean Miss Newbie." She pointed to me, "Her."


End file.
